The Old Northwood Historic District in West Palm Beach—bounded by Broadway, North Dixie Highway and 26th and 35th Streets—contains 320 historic buildings and is one of the first historic Districts to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This year’s tour will be held on Sunday, December 16 from 5 pm— 9 pm. Tickets are the same price as last year $35.00. Check-in is located at 3510 Spruce ave, WPB FL 33407 starting at 3:30 pm

The Candlelight Home Tour is an annual event that began thirty years ago and draws over 1,400 people to visit the historic homes in this unique neighborhood and share wine and conversation with friends and neighbors. The Old Northwood District includes homes in the Mission, Mediterranean Revival, Frame and Mid-Century Vernacular styles, designed in the 1920’s by leading architects.

This year we are offering the tatse of Northwood in place of a VIP party. The Taste of Northwood Experience will take you on a guided walking tour of Northwood Village along the way our guide will enlighten you with our history and a story or 2 about how the area was first founded.

It’s easy to do. Simply choose a category, make your nomination, and fill in your email address. Continue and complete the registration form*. Afterwards, you’ll receive a confirmation email which will contain a link that will allows you to auto login each day to nominate again if you wish. *You MUST register in order to vote!

I just got back from a campaign event where the discussion turned to the much requested overpass on Okeechobee Blvd. The comment was made that “the Mayor didn’t even consider it” (paraphrasing).

During the Okeechobee Corridor study a few years ago my group discussed the overpass option in depth. We discussed different ways that we could make an overpass work to not just provide and end to end crossing from the convention center to CityPlace, but also provide options for people coming from CityPlace South Tower as well as those who are trying to cross Okeechobee at Parker.

The concept of not just having a boring (smelly) overpass, but creating a new space was what excited me. A destination, something like the highline in New York that could provide more than just getting across the road.

I was happy when the final Okeechobee Corridor Study was released, there was a section that discussed the various options, the costs included as well as the reasons why the city was not recommending the overpass.

Below are the options the study worked through – commentary on the images is mine.

This is what most people think when they talk about an over pass. Turns out elevators are expensive. (length: 310 ft, price: $7,000,000) Interesting option, provides an “on ramp” for neighborhood access from Grandview Heights, and “off ramps” at Cityplace, Hilton, Kravis Center. (length: 2125ft, cost: 49,800,000)I liked this one. the Organic look could make it both a functional way of getting around as well as a featured piece of art. (length: 2125, cost: 49,800,000)At over half a mile, this is by far the most ambitious. Not a huge fan of the square shape, but of we knocked off some of the edges make an interesting above ground running track. (length: 3000ft, cost:70,000,000)City’s Cost Estimates – Not Cheap

Here is the full explanation of why the Okeechobee study is not recommending the pedestrian bridge. Emphasis is mine.

Several ideas for pedestrian bridges have been proposed over the years along Okeechobee. They were also mentioned frequently at the Okeechobee charrette. When they were mentioned at the charrette, the expressed goal was to allow safer and more convenient crossings.

People who might benefit from bridges include visitors and convention attendees as well as residents from adjacent buildings and neighborhoods.

Several bridge concepts where tested. For pedestrian bridges, there are two options. One option includes elevators and a bridge. This option can have a smaller footprint, but requires people to use an elevator to access the bridge. The second option is to use ramps to access the bridge. Ramps add length to the bridge crossing and expand the overall footprint of the bridge.

The bridge and elevator option would be able to provide the most direct crossing between the convention center and CityPlace. The free-flow movement of pedestrians is restricted with this option by the capacity and speed of the elevators. This option would not be able to handle large volumes of people over short periods of time, such as when a convention center event ends. The elevator wait times may also be equal or greater to the existing time it takes to cross the intersection at Rosemary and Okeechobee.

The ramp options require longer bridge lengths in order to make the crossing across Okeechobee.

These options can handle larger volumes of people but require longer distances and more time for people walking to cross the street. They also require a larger footprint.

To estimate the cost of the pedestrian bridge options, the Orlando Convention Center pedestrian bridge across International Drive was used. The bridge has some similarities in context, including crossing a multi-lane roadway and at a convention center.

Orlando Convention Center Pedestrian Bridge – so ugly.

The costs range from $7 to $70 million. The $7 million cost would be for the bridge option with elevators. This cost represents 25% of the estimated cost to rebuild the entire Okeechobee corridor from I-95 to Flagler Drive. The ramp options range from $50 to $70 million. These costs represent between 180% and 260% of the cost to rebuild the entire Okeechobee corridor from I-95 to Flagler Drive.

Because of the crossing needs across Okeechobee, the safety issues, and the costs, a pedestrian bridge across Okeechobee is not recommended at this time. As a first step, it is recommended that the corridor be redesigned and rebuilt to improve conditions at existing intersections. None of the bridge options improve the underlying safety issues for all corridor users. Redesigning the street and intersection can do this. Additionally, none of the bridge options are able to handle high volumes of pedestrian crossings or reduce crossing time.

Whether or not you agree with the conclusions, that is up to you. But the study was done, and the options were looked at and evaluated.

1. Feast for Families – help Local Schools

Robert Norvell heads up this local food drive every year – contact him to directly (rnorvell@norvell-law.com) help families in local schools.

Feast for families is a locally centered food drive for families in need attending public schools. The schools select 30 families and host a food drive at the school.

The food drive is to create baskets for a Thanksgiving feast. What we do is help supplement things that are missing from the basket and top it off with a Publix turkey. Then on the week before Thanksgiving we do a turkey trot. Volunteers and our local police officers gather at Publix to take delivery of the turkeys and send them to their destination at each school.

This year we are partnering with the following schools: South Olive Elementary, Belvedere Elementary, Conniston middle school, palmetto elementary school, north grade elementary, and Lake Worth high school. We are fortunate to have individual donors and organizations to help buy the turkeys.

The approximate cost for each school is $500. What we need from Publix is to allow us to continue using the promotional price that they offer for the Thanksgiving holiday per pound for each bird without requiring a two bird limit per person. The only way to financially make a feasible is to have that price break. Having the birds in boxes delivered in a group is the most efficient way, they’re not being resold, they’re being delivered directly to families and we supplement the baskets with items purchased at Publix.

I have ordered 120 turkeys and will ask the meat manager (Mike Lomastro) to order 60 more because the Lake Worth schools were just added. The store manager is Greg Howell and it’s store number 50; South dale shopping center.

Here are some pictures from the last few years

For many of these families this is their first exposure to the uniquely American holiday Thanksgiving. And I I have had the pleasure of being part of that, Publix has always made that happen with the help of a whole bunch of volunteers. Contact Robert Norvell (rnorvell@norvell-law.com) to help out!

2. Thanksgiving Food Drive at WPBrewery

At West Palm Brewery, we believe in doing our part to try and help those in need. Starting November 1st, we will be working with the Palm Beach County Food Bank to do a food drive!

We’ll be offering a special discount for those who donate to our food drive! -Donate 4 items (from list below) and get a free beer.-or--Donate 6 or more items (from list below) and get 15% off of your bill. Valid once per person.

You must show your donation first to a staff member to receive the discount, and then put it in the large donation box near the couches! You may donate as much as you’d like, but the special is valid once.

Team Bill Bone is cycling from Miami to Key West to make a difference.

Joining 650 people from around the country, Team Bill Bone is participating with in the fifteenth annual Smart Ride.

The goal of the ride is to:

Raise awareness of the continued growth of HIV/AIDS worldwide.

Help those already living with HIV & AIDS live healthier and more fulfilled lives by providing the basics to long term survival.

Give those who have lost someone to AIDS an avenue to express, recognize, remember and celebrate these individuals.

Team Bill Bone has raised $11,140 and needs YOUR help to reach their goal of $17,000 by departure from Miami on November 16th. 100% of the proceeds go towards the cause with NO costs for administering the ride, the team has also paid for their own food and lodging during the trip. That means if you donate, 100% of the money goes back to the community!!

In addition to economic challenge of meeting the team’s fundraising goal, there is the physical challenge of riding 100 miles on the first day and another 65 on the second of the ride (ON SOUTH FLORIDA ROADS)! The Team has been training for months to get physically prepared and is ready to take on the challenge!

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